Google’s Webspam Search Algorithm gets an Official Name: The Penguin Update

Google launched a new search algorithm update on Tuesday. You can check my article “Google’s New Search Algorithm to Target Webspam” I wrote the next day for details.  The update now from Google is that it has given an official name to this update,  The Penguin Update. So after Panda it is Penguin’s turn. Earlier this search algorithm update to target webspam was missing the name but like other Google updates it now has a name of its own.

The name of the update comes after the update itself came. But if you remember, it has happened earlier as well. When the Panda update was released in February 2011, Google did not disclose the name it was using internally for the update. The same thing seems to have happened with the latest Penguin Update. On 24 April when the update was announced, it was unnamed. But now Google has given it an official name, the Penguin Update.

The Penguin Update is intended to improve the quality of search results and encourage white hat Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques. Here is what the official Google release has to say about the webspam algorithm update, now Penguin update.

“our advice for webmasters is to focus on creating high quality sites that create a good user experience and employ white hat SEO methods instead of engaging in aggressive webspam tactics.”

“Sites affected by this change might not be easily recognizable as spamming…….but the common thread is that these sites are doing much more than white hat SEO; we believe they are engaging in webspam tactics to manipulate search engine rankings.”